Only Once
by thecookiedimension
Summary: This is for Sea Devil Week. For more info, check details below before the story. Not long after young Ursula fled from her father, her haywired magic accidentally opened a portal. Would it be a friend or a foe who emerged from it?


Sea Devil Week (August 1-8 2015)

Theme: Decades

Please visit seadevil-week tumblr for more details.

Day 3 Prompt: Ursula's Kingdom

A/N: Imagine the fan casting for young Cruella. Oh, and I want to continue this but I have commitment issues and so it would stay a one-shot for probably a long time. haha. sorry.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Cruella did it. She managed to escape her mother's attic. Just as she jumped from the window and landed safely to the ground, a portal opened, and she was sucked into it, as portals do.

It was young Ursula who last week fled from her father. Still not able to fully control her magic - the magic she forcefully took from her father to turn herself into a half octopus - frustrated, distraught, mad, crazy are all descriptions of understatement. It was a haywire of overflowing magic. She's taking turns in feeling angry, then hopeless, then angry again. She doesn't want weakness to seep into her psyche. But in the bursts of anger comes pride, satisfaction, relief. No one is controlling her now. She is the queen of herself, finally. Only if she can learn to tame her magic.

And so it was an accident when young Ursula switched open a portal in another time-space dimension. Cruella suddenly found herself in an underwater cave. There was not even a shred of fear or doubt in Cruella's mind. She feels pride, satisfaction, relief just being out of the attic. No one is controlling her now. She is the queen of herself, finally. Only if she can practice her ability to kill things.

As she slowly walked towards the entrance of the cave, she heard a voice. "Who are you?" Ursula said with authority.

"Who are you?" Cruella defyingly replied.

"Excuse me. You are the one intruding in my castle."

"You call this a castle?" Cruella laughed, certainly mocking and a bit impressed on the tenacity of this creature. Something she can relate to.

"Well, kingdom. It's a cave but it's MY Kingdom."

"With no servants? And you alone with no fancy things at all."

Ursula let out two tentacles towards Cruella.

"No need for that, darling." Cruella was able to stop the attack with just words. She enjoys

unapologetic murder and she can defend herself, but she's practical at the core. She knew this whatever, lady creature can instantly kill her with no mercy.

She continued her sweet talk to save her own life. "I'm actually lost. I mean no harm. Trust me. Please."

Ursula's tentacles are still in the air while she contemplates whether to end this girl.

"Alright then. My magic is out of control, and I somehow believe you. Come here, darling."

"Since you're using my favorite word, darling, can I get a guarantee that you'll keep your... tentacles, right? Those are tentacles? To yourself."

"Agreed, as long as you don't do anything funny."

"You'll find I have a whole other idea of funny. Usually bloody. But no, you are safe with me."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Two months have passed and these two girls have been best of friends it seemed. Cruella was tough enough to make Ursula comfortable practicing her magic. No need to be ashamed to make mistakes, or for Cruella to occassionally get attacked. She understands Ursula's need to learn being the best version of herself, which involves dominion and murder over other creatures, a belief, well Cruella shares passionately.

They had lots of adventures, roaming the vast seas, interacting with the world of creatures underneathe. They occasionally rise up to the sea to watch the sunset but they prefer staying under the sea because for some reason, there's such a comfort in hiding below. Yes, they both have been hiding from the world above.

"I really love it here, darling. I don't want to ever leave." Cruella sighed while Ursula's head rests over one of her breasts. They have been lying down in one of the large rocks of the cave for almost an hour.

"You don't have to. We're not even sure how you got here. So you probably can't leave either. You're stuck with me, sorry."

"Well I want to be stuck with you forever." With that remark, Ursula raised her head to look Cruella in the eye. She smiled the sweetest smile, and responded, "You are not who I thought you were when I first saw you. And I'm glad."

Cruella began to smile, and without hesitation kissed Ursula passionately. Ursula didn't hesitate to kiss back. This is something Ursula had wanted to do for so long but she feared Cruella may not be feeling the same way. She is her only companion and did not want to disrupt the "life" they have by making it awkward.

The kisses were getting heavy, hands exploring each other's body, when they heard a loud thump from the other side of the cave. They paused and looked at the direction it's coming from for only three seconds before they faced each other again.

"Cruella... I... I love..."

BOOM!

The cave began shaking slowly then violently. Ursula tried something with her magic as she held Cruella safely with her tentacles. It didn't work. She then tried again but what it did was to open up a portal that immediately, forcefully, started to suck them both in. Ursula used her six tentacles to hold on to the rocks while the other two, plus her hands, she used to tenderly protect Cruella.

The force was too great and it's getting difficult for Ursula to hold on.

"Darling, don't let me go. I want to stay here with you forever."

"I know."

"Ursula, why are you looking at me like that?"

"I can't. I thought I can love you but I need to love myself first. I need to prove myself to my father. I'm sorry."

"What are you saying?"

"Goodbye, Cruella."

And just like that, Ursula gave Cruella to the portal.

All her tentacles were now holding on to the wall. Her hands, she used to try something again to stop this. And whatever it is, it worked. The portal was now gone.

She then sanked and cried.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Loneliness and guilt started to paralyze Ursula's heart for a week. Every waking moment, she thought of Cruella. Every dream was a nightmare because it's about Cruella and her, happy somewhere else. Only the dream ends with her betrayal with the exact same scenario.

It was a different story on the other side however. Cruella was sent back to her mother's doorstep. Before she can stand and run, she heard dogs barking wildly and her mother opened the door.

"I know you'd be back. You can't survive out there."

"I...I don't know..."

"What, you've been out two months. Where have you been?"

"I honestly don't know, mother. Was it two months?"

"Yes. Come inside now or do you want the dogs to fetch you?"

Cruella was too dizzy to even try to escape and so she went inside.

She was locked in the attic again, with no memory of what has transpired but with a longing feeling for something good. This time it's not about the yearning for adventure that she always had before. She felt she had gone through some adventures and that the hole in her heart was filled with indeed, something good. She can never understand what it is she is feeling now but she knows with great certainty, there was something beautiful that happened to her. This satisfied feeling lasted a week. After which, she decided to move on. Because how can she keep cherishing this beautiful feeling she does not understand when she's back in this bloody situation. It is best to forget. It is best not to linger on that glimpse of color when it can never be brought back. Whatever that was.

Ursula decided to move on. How can she go on proving herself to her father if she stays broken? That was the reason she stayed in this world and let Cruella go to whatever place there is.

And so, she created a forgetting potion and drank it all.


End file.
